More parents work outside the home now than ever, but they are still spending more time with their children than the generations before them, according to a recent study.
Yeah, it seems like Mom and Dad really can do it all.
Researchers at the University of California, Irvinefound between 1965 and 2012, all but one of 11 Western nations showed an increase in the amount of time both parents spent with their children. The exception was France.
The subject pool included 122,271 parents in Canada, the U.K, the U.S., Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Slovenia between the ages of 18 and 65 with at least one child younger than 13. The 68,532 mothers and 53,739 fathers kept a journal of their daily activities.
While moms in 1965 might have spent more time at home with children, they only spent 54 minutes on child care activities, according to the study. Moms in 2012 nearly doubled that, reporting 104 minutes per day. Fathers’ time with children nearly quadrupled since 1965, when dads reported spending 16 minutes with children. In 2012, dads spent an average of 59 minutes caring for children.
Time spent with children includes preparing food, feeding, bathing, changing diapers and clothes, preparing for bedtime, reading, playing, and helping with homework.
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